I. thrill 1 /θrɪl/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [countable] a sudden strong feeling of excitement and pleasure, or the thing that makes you feel this:
Winning first place must have been quite a thrill.
the thrill of (doing) something (=the excitement you get from something)
the thrill of travelling at high speeds
Even though I’ve been acting for years, I still get a thrill out of going on stage.
It gave Pat a thrill to finally see the group perform live.
a thrill of excitement/anticipation/fear etc
She felt a thrill of pride as her son stepped forward.
do something for the thrill of it (=do something for excitement and not for any serious reason)
2 . thrills and spills ( also thrills and chills ) informal the excitement and danger involved in an activity, especially a sport
3 . the thrill of the chase/hunt the excitement you feel when you are trying to get something that is difficult to get, especially when you are trying to get a romantic relationship with someone
⇨ cheap thrill at ↑ cheap 1 (6)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a big/great thrill
It was a great thrill for me to beat Federer.
▪ a real thrill
Playing in such an important game must be a real thrill.
▪ a cheap thrill disapproving (=excitement that you can get easily or without much effort)
Young people go to the big city in search of cheap thrills.
▪ a vicarious thrill (=one which you get when you watch or hear about someone else doing something exciting)
He clearly enjoyed the vicarious thrill of reading about grisly murders.
■ verbs
▪ get a thrill
I get such a thrill out of skydiving.
▪ feel a thrill written:
I felt a thrill of anticipation as I waited for her train to arrive.
▪ give somebody a thrill
It gave me a big thrill to meet him.
■ phrases
▪ a thrill of excitement/anticipation/pleasure
As the plane took off, she felt a thrill of excitement.
II. thrill 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: thyrlian 'to make a hole in' , from thyrel 'hole' , from thurh ; ↑ through 1 ]
[transitive] to make someone feel excited and happy ⇨ thrilling :
His music continues to thrill audiences.
thrill to something ( also thrill at something ) phrasal verb formal
to feel excited and happy about something:
In the 1960s, the public thrilled to the idea of space exploration.